Six Flags Over Texas (SFOT) Discussion Thread

[Shavethewhales]

I had a great time today at SFOT. It was my first visit to a true Six Flags park since I was a little kid (I say "true" SF park because Frontier City was never really treated as a proper SF park). I just went by myself since I had a free day and have been wanting to hit this park up for over a decade.

 

The park was fairly busy, but I managed to get every credit besides the kiddie coasters, with re-rides on Titan, Shockwave, Judge, Batman, Mr. Freeze, and Pandemonium.

 

I don't bother with classic trip reports anymore, but here are my notes/thoughts on my experiences today:

 

The Good:

SFOT has a fantastic and perhaps underrated collection of coasters.

• Titan surprised me with its interesting layout and forcefulness, definitely a new favorite.
  
• I was also surprised by the Runaway-Mine-Train. I knew it was essentially the granddaddy of them all, but it feels so different from any other mine train I've been on. I really loved the finale.
  
• Mr. Freeze and Batman were both solid rides as I knew they would be
  
• Shockwave and Judge Roy Scream both really appealed to me as a lover of nostalgia and the classics
  
• La Vibora is incredibly fun. I so wish we could bring back the bobsled genre, but with higher capacity vehicles.
  
• NTAG was decent, but honestly after hearing it hyped up so much back in 2011 and having ridden Outlaw Run, I was a little let down. It's certainly fun and fulfilling, but it doesn't feel nearly as crazy as it looks. I think OR might have just spoiled it for me since that's what I had in mind when I rode it.

 

I also enjoyed the general atmosphere of the park itself more than I thought I would. There's definitely a lot of character in parts, particularly some of the older parts that relate to the original Six Flags theme concept. Unfortunately this has been somewhat cannibalized by the ludicrous number of game stands and in-park advertising.

 

The staff were very good. Everyone was very friendly and did their jobs well. You could just tell that everyone had been through training and knew what they were doing. There was a set process behind every little thing, which looks like it would be really frustrating, but they managed to handle it while still being friendly and appearing to have fun with the guests.

 

The Bad:

I'm not used to SF parks, but I was a little shocked by the inefficiency I saw around the park. Just getting into the park was an hour long ordeal between the slow ticket salespeople and ineffective and poorly coordinated security checks. I don't understand why they wouldn't have a better entrance and more resources diverted to this area as it gives everyone a bad start to their day and it's literally where they make most of their money.

 

Ride operations were painfully slow as well. Not just because of their stringent safety checks, but because the ride ops were just plain slow and there weren't enough of them to move the trains at a proper pace. It doesn't seem like there is a priority for the park to operate rides efficiently since it just drives more sales of Flashpasses. They sure had plenty of people to man the flashpass system and all of the lame carnival games, but couldn't spare a couple extra for the major coasters to double put-through.

 

La Vibora has an especially slow queue line. For some reason I though the carriages were either 6 or 8 seaters, but when I got up there I was surprised to see that there are only three seats with a tandem option for small kids. Each carriage only held 2 or 3 people for most runs. They were loading two cars at a time, but one was essentially reserved for the flash pass queue line. I waited for 2 hours to ride the first time in the painfully slow moving main queue before I realized that this ride has a single rider queue! Not only that, but since there are a lot of groups of two, as a single rider you are essentially a walk on every time! I could have ridden dozens of times in the time it took me to get that first ride. I felt pretty stupid after that - I should have known better as a seasoned enthusiast. Oh well, it was good for my head to take a break from riding anyway.

 

 

 

I know I'm probably late to the party on all of those observations, but I thought I would share since it's my first reaction to a major SF park. I did enjoy it quite a bit, but I'm not sure I'll hurry back because it is so expensive and the operations were frustrating.

[Sue]

La Vibora has a single rider line? That's very good to know. Do any other rides have single rider lines that you noticed?

[gerstlaueringvar]

Too bad to hear NTaG getting tamed. Still glad we at least got to ride Outlaw a Run which seems to be a lot better than the other two existing RMC's.

 

I really wish SFOT could get better this year but apparently they aren't. Where is Herschend again?

[bigboy]

La Vibora has a single rider line? That's very good to know. Do any other rides have single rider lines that you noticed?

 

Tony Hawk (or whatever it's called now) and Superman.

[DarienLaker]

La Vibora has a single rider line? That's very good to know. Do any other rides have single rider lines that you noticed?

 

Tony Hawk (or whatever it's called now) and Superman.

 

Tony Hawk's Big spin is now called "Pandemonium" to refresh everyone's memory!

[TexasParkman]

Thanks "Savethewhales for your trip report". OT is my home park and it is always good to hear a fresh review. That being said- the front gate situation drives me crazy. Many people have season passes and already have a valid finger scan- yet you have to stand in the same line with people who don't yet have a pass but need to be processed. Why they don't have a line for finger scan only- I don't know. Our metal detector process is very slow. That does not help.

 

Operations are always slow in March and April. The new Operators are more concerned with safety than with capacity. It usually gets better in May and June.

 

The Park has charm- it needs more theming and more fresh paint. IMHO. They threw season parking in with a season pass- otherwise I would not be too excited about paying $ 20.00 every visit. $10.00 I get, $15.00 seemed high, $20.00 just seems like price gouging. Thanks again for the nice review.

[GigaG]

Too bad to hear NTaG getting tamed. Still glad we at least got to ride Outlaw a Run which seems to be a lot better than the other two existing RMC's.

 

I really wish SFOT could get better this year but apparently they aren't. Where is Herschend again?

 

What got tamed about NTAG? Isn't it the same as pre-accident, just with seatbelts that are usually considered unnoticeable?

[Superbatboy]

Too bad to hear NTaG getting tamed. Still glad we at least got to ride Outlaw a Run which seems to be a lot better than the other two existing RMC's.

 

I really wish SFOT could get better this year but apparently they aren't. Where is Herschend again?

 

What got tamed about NTAG? Isn't it the same as pre-accident, just with seatbelts that are usually considered unnoticeable?

 

The way I interpreted the trip report was that it just wasn't as intense as Outlaw Run, and riding that before NTaG made it seem tame.

[gerstlaueringvar]

I've heard NTaG got slower and the airtime is more controlled after the accident. Probably the park did something to the wheels.

[Mrlittle]

I've heard NTaG got slower and the airtime is more controlled after the accident. Probably the park did something to the wheels.

 

I haven't heard any of this. The only thing I hear about the coaster since the accident are longer dispatch times. It's still the same ride.

[medoman]

can anyone clarify - What's the current state of play regarding NTG and the flashpass? I'm also going to be visiting the first weekend in may (on Friday all day and Saturday morning)

[Dr. M]

I've heard NTaG got slower and the airtime is more controlled after the accident. Probably the park did something to the wheels.

 

It would be nice if someone who's actually ridden it before and after could confirm this.

[Shavethewhales]

All I know is that when I rode it the other day, there was very little actual airtime. I rode in the second to last seat, and it just seemed like it was running more sluggishly than it was originally intended. Granted, this was a fairly early ride in the day, early in the season. I wish I had time to give it another ride later in the day. It's still a reasonably fun ride, just not anything insane.

[cal1br3tto]

I also enjoyed the general atmosphere of the park itself more than I thought I would. There's definitely a lot of character in parts, particularly some of the older parts that relate to the original Six Flags theme concept. Unfortunately this has been somewhat cannibalized by the ludicrous number of game stands and in-park advertising.

Totally agreed on both parts. I especially love the secluded Judge Roy Scream area. But while there's a lot of charm remaining, other parts are the more typical Six Flags cheaply commercial and cartoonish environment.

 

While I still rank NTAG as a top-5 coaster, I've always had some mixed feelings in the back of my mind. I wonder if we'll be hearing more tempered views now that the massive hype has worn off and RMC continues showing that they're capable of even crazier designs. Then again, it could just be temperamental and need time to warm up. I've sometimes called it a steel El Toro, but it doesn't share the wooden coaster's relentless speed, slowing down noticeably during the final hops. At this point I believe I like Iron Rattler more, and Outlaw Run is simply in a league of its own.

 

All in all, it's a shame this park has become so frustrating to visit.

[A.J.]

I've heard NTaG got slower and the airtime is more controlled after the accident. Probably the park did something to the wheels.

Why don't you go ride it and tell us yourself?

 

Sheesh, it's like Skyrush and/or Intimidator 305 all over again. New Texas Giant is still a freaking awesome coaster, right?

[Dr. M]

Skyrush's "slowed lift hill" was a great big nothing, I suspect this is as well, if there is even any truth to the rumors, which I doubt. They generally make rides slower by adding trims, not changing the wheels, am I wrong?

[Rollercoaster Rider]

Maybe they replaced the Gerstlauer trains with RMC Trains

[BigBomer]

Uhh, I think we would notice if they changed the trains...

[leroyk]

Just got back from Six Flags Over Texas. First time there. Not a bad park. Strange policy though for single riders or those in odd number pairs. I not sure if this is new and has been covered but no other Six Flags I was at last year did this.

 

There seems to be a rule that no single rider can be in the last row of a train. Initially I thought this was the very last row. No it seems that if the first three rows out of 8 are full, a single rider cannot be in row 4.

 

For instance, I got to SFOT early Saturday. Hit Batman. Maybe 10 or so on the train. Was the only one in row 8. They actually moved 2 people from row 2 back to 8 so I would not be riding by myself. Bizarre, in hindsight there was still an empty seat next to me. On New Texas Giant, I choose the the next to last row. Thinking it was the very last physical row. In this case the physical last row behind me was empty. I had to move with the folks in front of me. They were cool about. It just seems strange. Maybe this is a result from the events of the past year.

 

Are any of the other parks implementing "No single riders in the last row with people in them" policies ?

 

Leroy

[bigboy]

It's "no single riders in the last loaded row". They had the policy the entire time I worked at the park in the mid-90s and they also didn't allow single riders on any flat ride (the entire ride, not a particular seat or row). It went away sometime in the early-2000s and came back shortly after the accident on NTAG. It was explained to us when I worked at the park as an insurance requirement that allowed for at least 2 people to have a chance to see every rider on a train in the event that something went wrong.

[chadster]

can anyone clarify - What's the current state of play regarding NTAG and the flashpass? I'm also going to be visiting the first weekend in may (on Friday all day and Saturday morning)

 

Plat pass only (STILL) 1 ride time, can go back to flash pass office for another time if they are available.

 

All I know is that when I rode it the other day, there was very little actual airtime. I rode in the second to last seat, and it just seemed like it was running more sluggishly than it was originally intended. Granted, this was a fairly early ride in the day, early in the season. I wish I had time to give it another ride later in the day. It's still a reasonably fun ride, just not anything insane.

 

Polyurethane tread needs warm temps to fly. When the temps are 50 or below the ride indeed slows down, more so when it hits about 44. The sweet spot has been around 80 and above after its been in operation for a few hours. Hit 95+ and watch out. Nothing was done to the ride to slow it down (absurd load procedures excluded, seriously SFFT was consistently checking iRat trains with two people in less than 25 seconds this past weekend, takes these guys 3 minutes plus)

 

It's "no single riders in the last loaded row". They had the policy the entire time I worked at the park in the mid-90s and they also didn't allow single riders on any flat ride (the entire ride, not a particular seat or row). It went away sometime in the early-2000s and came back shortly after the accident on NTAG. It was explained to us when I worked at the park as an insurance requirement that allowed for at least 2 people to have a chance to see every rider on a train in the event that something went wrong.

 

Funny how this park has bowed down, bent over, and taking it deep at the expense of their customers (meaning mind boggling rules and triple yanking of restraints). Shame that someone died, it's not the first time it's happened at a Six Flags park, but for whatever reason this one has taken things to the extreme. Outside of state mandated $1 million insurance coverage, I believe I read in the lawsuit they are now self insured.

 

 

And please no one start on how they are just making it safer, bullsh!t. Their sister parks are still doing it the old way so does that mean they are all doing it wrong? One final comparison. Sea World San Antonio who just happens to have a batman clone had 5 people working the ride, 6 if you count the queue entry. Restraints locked, checked, and dispatched in 20 seconds. SFOT, restraints locked and 4 seats checked in 20 seconds, 3 people working the ride. This park not only has zero hustle save for maybe Mr. Freeze and Shockwave, but a complete do it with as few people as possible attitude.

 

Could more people have prevented the unfortunate accident that has caused this park to not be as good as it could? Maybe, maybe not. But hiring competent people and training them well certainly might have. But at the very least they need to bring back the Shapiro era of hustle and then more hustle. You can be safe and hustle, it's done many times over every day around the world.

 

Overheard an employee's training one day. Trainer(who i think was just a regular Joe): "Do you know what lock out tag out is" Employee: "Yeah" Trainer: Ok, next question. Not, please explain it to me, or what is lock out tag out. It was marked off the list and on to the next. I chuckled.

[Linders]

^^ When we went to SFFT last summer, we were very impressed at how efficient they were at loading and dispatching. Only that kiddie car ride (kinda like the antique cars at SFOT, only 50's type cars) made me want to pull out my brain and start snacking on it from the insane wait time. Had it not been for my son, we'd never got in line. Two loading stations, two employees, one car at a time dispatch. SFOT can dispatch 4! Anyway, other than that, I noticed on Goliath, we flew through line. No stupid shoe rules. I loved how we didn't sit forever in a stagnant loading station waiting to be cued up to get off. Holy cow, in July, it's brutal and hot in Batman waiting for them to spend 5 minutes to recheck 10 different cars. The one visit we went when Irat was open, the line moved pretty fast, even with one car closed off in one of the trains. Over all we were very impressed with how quick the lines moved.

NTAG seemed to me to speed up though as time went on and people grew more confident that they won't get killed. This year, we went on day 1, and it seemed like training day. I was understanding. It was the first day of the season and these people's first time with GP. We went on Friday. Still insanely slow. It seemed to me like nobody was in any kind of hurry. They didn't seem green, like on day 1. Just sloooooow! Lots of dilly dallying and being silly with each other. It still wasn't a bad wait, as the park wasn't crowded. Our visit was pretty darn good. All coasters were open and we rode all that we wanted to ride. The longest wait for us was on Freeze. I'd love it to come and actually see them run 2 trains. We waited over 30 minutes and the end of the line was at the top. That shouldn't have been more than 15 minutes! Day 1, we didn't ride it because they were on 1 train operation and the line was pretty far down. You could see the slow dispatch time while waiting for Batman as it was quite awhile between dispatches. It was clear that we'd not have time to ride much of anything if we waited it out and passed it up.

SFOT management would do good to take some pointers from SFFT. We thought that last year. We were impressed with that park, over all. We also loved their fireworks show at the end of the evening.

 

Off the subject. One other thing SFOT could do to get people back into their parks is to lower their prices a couple of bucks, not raise them. One would think if they are trying to win back the crowds after a nasty accident, they'd throw out some sweet deals to get people in the gates. At least the popcorn refill prices didn't go up.

[Iron Wolf 90-11]

Six Flags Over Texas is getting Batman Backwards.

https://www.sixflags.com/overtexas/attractions/batman-ride

[Mrlittle]

Well now that it's been confirmed. I will go ride it when they start it.

[rcjp]

^Interesting. I thought that due to the number of those backwards chassis they could only do one ride at a time.